Flat metal-covered roof



A. w. PATTIANI FLAT METAL-COVERED ROOF Filed Marzh 20 VENTOR.

T TIA N /ATTORNEY.

IN ALo/s W. H:

Aug. 15, 1939 Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 15Claims.

This invention relates to sheet metal covered roofs, particularly roofswith a foundation covering of boards, either Wood or composition boards,and the outer surface of the foundation covered with thin sheet metal,particularly thin sheet copper.

The principal objects of theinvention are to provide a method and meansfor covering'such a roof (or side walls of a building), with sheet metalin such a manner that the outer surface will be fiat and free fromprojecting seams, so that the roofmay be walked on without injury to anystanding or projecting seams or joints. Also such a roof which is simplyapplied without the necessity of using solder along the seams, andwithal a flat roof in which the seams while sunken into the foundationbelow the outer surface are watertight.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description and accompanying drawing:

In the drawing the thickness of the sheet metal and in the seams isshown by a single line as has been commonly done in patents showing suchthin sheet metal construction, for otherwise the folded metal at theseams would be so greatly distorted as to misrepresent the relation ofthe parts, as in practice very thin sheet copper (about the thickness ofan ordinary sheet of paper), would generally be used, and even three orfour thicknesses folded together at the seam would still be but asixteenth of an inch or less in total thickness, and this must beconsidered in viewing the drawing.

Figure 1 is a vertical cross section as taken across the longitudinaljoint or seam joining the edges of long strips of metal covering theroofing boards.

Figures 2 to 9 are similar sectional views to that shown in Figure l,but show various modifications of the invention while all retaining thefeature of a flat outer surface with the metal sheets joined in a sunkenseam.

Briefly described the improved flat metal covered roof consists of longsheets or strips of flexible, soft, corrosive resisting metal joined toeach other along their long edges, with the seam sunken in the roofboards and the sheet metal covering not only the roof boards but allholding down nails as well. A feature of the invention is the simple andeffective manner in which the seams are clamped into place to make atight joint without the use of solder.

In all the figures the foundation boards may be considered as of wood,or artificial boards such of working, and they are rolled out andflattened on the foundation roof before joining or seaming togetheralong their long margins. The strips may be run horizontally on a fiator slanted roof or up and down over a slanted or gable roof. The stripsare preferably long enough to extend across the roof to be covered,though they may be joined as by soldering or otherwise to make them longenough if desired.

In all figures of the drawing a joint of two adjacent strips or sheetsof the thin flexible sheet metal is shown, and one of the sheets isdesignated 2 and the other 3, it being understood that the sheets are incontact with the supporting or foundation roof as well as in contactwith each other at the joints or folds, the slight line of clearanceshown in the drawing being to preserve clarity only.

In the figures, variously, the foundation or roof boards I are shownresting on purlins 4 or rafters 5 or other supporting structure to whichthey are nailed as by nails 6, the heads of which are set flush into thetop of the boards as indicated.

In Figure 1 the joint or seam between metal sheets 2 and 3 includes asomewhat triangularly shaped strip of Wood, fiat on top and fittingwithin a complementarily formed groove 8 in board I and held in place asby nails 9 which pass through overlapped metal sheets 2 and 3 which passunder strip 1 as shown and their extreme margins are nailed or tacked tothe edge of groove 8 as at 10. Sheets 2 and 3 in the finished roofcompletely cover all nails as well as the roof boards and seam clampingstrips 1 to form a perfectly plain or fiat upper or outer surface whichmay either be a roof or the outside wall of a building.

In applying the sheet metal of Figure l the roof is progressivelycovered from left to right in this figure, and after tacking theoverlapped margins of the two sheets at H) the strip I is applied andnailed into the groove 8 with sheet 3 folded back as at 3, and afterstrip 1 is firmly secured, sheet 3' is swung forward indirection of thearrow to cover the clamping strip 1 and is then extended over board Iand to the groove in board I where it is joined to the next sheet in asimilar groove with the aid of a similar clamping strip, and so on tillthe, whole roof is covered.

' lapped margins of the sheets to the board I, the

ends of the sheets are folded or crimped by folding over one or moretimes as at l5, and the, folded joint is positioned in a small recess llformed in one side of V strip 1'. Otherwise the roof would be laid inthe manner described for Figure 1.

In Figures 3 and 4 the similarly numbered parts are the same asdescribed except that the clamp lng strips (here designated l2 and I3)instead of being beveled on opposite sides are beveled on one side onlyand the other side extending Vertically or at right angles from thesurface of theroof. In Figure 3 the strip I 2 is cut away or recessed atI4 to receive the folded overseam N5 of the two metal sheets to draw itdown tightly into the recess when the strip is nailed in'place by thenails I! which are here seen to pass through the strip, the roof board land into the rafter or purlin 4 as the case may be,'to thus look allthree 7 securely together. i

The design of Figure 4 is slightly different in stopping the seam recessat I4 just below the seam I6 so as to preserve a larger guiding nose atthe lower edge of the strip for better fitting the groove. Anotherfeature is, that instead of forming a grooveinthe top face of the boardto receive the seam clamping strip, one side of the groove is formed bythe plain edge of the next board I.

In Figures 5 and 6 the clamping strips I8 and I9 are placed between theadjacent edges of the roof boards I and I and in Figure 5 the strip isrecessed as at' 2| at the side for the folded metal seam 20, while inFigure 6 it is the lower edge of board I which is recessed as at 22 forthe folded metal seam 23. In Figure 5 the clamping strip is nailed fromabove into the purlin 4 by nails as at 24, while in Figure 6 theclamping strip I9 is nailed at right angles intov the board I as bynails 25, but in no instance do any of the securing nails pierce afolded metal seam to possibly cause a leak.

All folded metal seams shown may be folded over several times, insteadof folding but once as shown in the drawing, if desired. Also allfolded. seams may' first be white leaded or smeared with any othersealing compound before folding to further insure water-tightness.

.The clamping strip may also be white leaded.

The arrangements shown in all of the preceding figures .show the 'samegeneral method of.

progressive laying of the strips and folding over the successive boardsand nails, as previously described for Figure 1.

In Figures '7, 8 and 9 a somewhat different arrangement of the joint ofthe two metal sheets is similar to those shown in Figures 5 and 6 exceptthat in Figure '7 the folded metal seam 26 is forced tightly into agroove 21 in the edge of board I, by a bead or nose 28 projecting fromone side of the clamping strip 29 secured as by angularly driven nails6'. r a

In Figure 8 the arrangement is similar to that of Figure '7 except thatthe clampingstrip 30 of the board and stripare normally a tight fit,

and theaddition of the two sheets of thin copper therefore form anespecially tight wedged joint which, particularly if previously whiteleaded, will not leak if well seasoned wood be used.

As the invention is equally applicable to covering the boarded outersides of buildings as it is for roof covering, theword roof as used invthe claims is to be taken as including the sides of a building coveredin the same manner.

Also, the ;word boards as used in the claims are to be taken as coveringeither wooden boards, or artificial boards made of "Cellotex or similarproducts.

As such sheet metal roofs as herein contemplated are generally of copperof. but about the thickness of ordinary paper, and the work is done byhand, there is generally slack enough to allow forjcontraction in coldweather. However, as a feature contributing directly for expansion andcontraction, the thin. sheet metal may be embossed with very smallridges at intervals between its margins running in various directions orin any desired pattern such as a herringbone or other design, suchridges being indicated in some of the figures of the drawing a While myinvention. is particularly adapted to the covering of solid boardedroofs with very? thin flexible sheet metal, it is manifest that anyother thin flexible weatherproof .material may be substituted for thesheet metal where cost,

must be considered, and my claims are intended to cover any suchsubstitution. Also when the methodis used for covering the outer wallsof buildings it is immaterial whether the outer boarding be beaded orpanelled as commonly constructed. 7

Having thus described my improved fiat sheet:

metal covered roof construction together with some of its possiblemodifications I wish to say that I am aware of similar constructionsbeing used in roofs which were ridged, yet I am not aware of anyconstruction embodying this type.

of joint in a perfectly flat sheet metalcovered roof of the kind abovedescribed.

I therefore claim: l. A flat surface sheet metal covered roof comprisingroofing boards with spaced grooves extending inwardly from the outersurfaceof the boards, a plurality of. thin flexible sheet metal stripsarranged to cover the outer surface of said boards and with thelongitudinal'adjacent margins of the strips arranged in overlappingrelation in said grooves respectively, andclamping strips filling saidgrooves to present a substantially flush outer surfacewith said boardsand clamping the overlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, andone of the overlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover theclamping strip and extend to the next groove to join another sheet inrepetition of the construction described. V

2. A flat surface sheet metal covered roof. comill) ill)

prising roofing boards with spaced grooves extendinginwardly from theouter surface ofthe boards, a plurality of thin flexible-sheet metalstrips arranged to cover the outer surface of said boards and withthe-longitudinal adjacent margins of the strips arranged in overlappingrelation in said grooves respectively, and clamping strips filling saidgrooves to present a substantially flush outer surface with said boardsand clamping the overlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, andone of the overlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover theclamping strip and extend to the next groove to join another sheet inrepetition of the construction described, said boards being nailed tosupporting structure below, and said clamping strips being nailed intothe grooves, and said sheet metal strips covering all nail heads.

3. A fiat surface sheet metal covered roof comprising roofing boardswith spaced grooves extending inwardly from the outer surface of theboards, a plurality of thin flexible sheet metal strips arranged tocover the outer surface of said boards and with the longitudinaladjacent margins of the strips arranged in overlapping relation in saidgrooves respectively, and clamping strips filling said grooves topresent a substantially flush outer surface with said boards andclamping the overlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, and oneof the overlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover the clampingstrip and extend to the next groove to join another sheet in repetitionof the construction described, said boards being nailed, to supportingstructure below, and said clamping strips being nailed into the grooveswithout puncturing the metal sheets, and said sheet metal stripscovering all nail heads.

4. A fiat surface sheet metal covered roof comprising roofing boardswith spaced grooves extending inwardly from the outer surface of theboards, a plurality of. thin flexible sheet metal strips arranged tocover the outer surface of said boards and with the longitudinaladjacent margins of the strips arranged in overlapping relation in saidgrooves respectively, and clamping strips filling said grooves topresent a substantially flush outer surface with said boards andclamping the overlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, and oneof the overlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover the clampingstrip and extend to the next groove to join another sheet in repetitionof the construction described, the overlapped margins of the metalsheets being folded over one another in the form of a seam.

5. A fiat surface sheet metal covered roof comprising roofing boardswith spaced grooves extending inwardly from the outer surface of theboards, a plurality of thin flexible sheet metal strips arranged tocover the outersurface of said boards and with the longitudinal adjacentmargins of the strips arranged in. overlapping relation in said groovesrespectively, and clamping strips filling said grooves to present asubstantially flush outer surface with said boards and clamping theoverlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, and one of theoverlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover the clamping stripand extend to the next groove to join another sheet in repetition of theconstruction described, the overlapped margins of the metal sheets beingfolded over one another in the form of a seam and positioned in a recessin the side of the clamping strip.

6. A flat surface sheet metal covered roof comprising roofing boardswith spaced grooves exboards and with the longitudinal adjacent marginsof the strips arranged in overlapping rela- =tionin said groovesrespectively, and clamping strips filling said grooves to present asubstantially flush outer surface with said boards and clamping theoverlapped margins of, the sheets in said grooves, and one of theoverlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover the clamping stripand extend to the next groove to join another sheet in repetition of theconstruction described, the overlapped margins of the metal sheets beingfolded over one another in the form of a seam and positioned in a recessin the side of the groove.

'7. In the construction as set out in claim 1, said clamping stripsformed with a beveled edge and said grooves being complementarilyformed.

8. In the construction as set out in claim 1, said clamping stripsformed with opposite edges beveled and said grooves beingcomplementarily formed.

9. In the construction as set out in claim 1, the grooves being formedby a space between the edges of adjacent boards, and the clamping stripfitting within said space.

10. In the construction as set out in claim 1, the grooves being formedby a space between the edges of adjacent boards, and the clamping stripfitting within said space and nailed into the edge of one of the boardsto clamp the overlapped joint of the metal sheets thereagainst.

11. In a sheet metal covered roof, a layer of. boards covering the roofand presenting a flush outer surface, said boards provided with a groovealong the edge, sheets of metal covering said boards a folded seamjoining adjacent sheets of metal, and a clamping strip engaging saidseam and forcing said seam tightly against the side of said groove ofthe roof boards.

12. In a fiat surface sheet metal covered roof of the characterdescribed, the adjacent sheets of metal joined by overlapping margins,foundation boards with flush outer surfaces covered by said sheet metal,and means forcing the overlapping margins of the metal into tightmarginal contact against the wall of. a recess in the edge of theboards.

13. A flat surface sheet metal covered roof comprising roofing boardswith spaced grooves extending inwardly from the outer surface of theboards, a plurality of thin flexible sheet metal strips arranged tocover the outer surface of said boards and with the longitudinaladjacent margins of the strips arranged in overlapping relation in saidgrooves respectively, and clamping strips filling said grooves topresent a substantially flush outer surface with said boards andclamping the overlapped margins of the sheets in said grooves, and oneof the overlapped sheets at each groove being bent to cover the clampingstrip and extend to the next groove to join another sheet in repetitionof the construction described, said boards being nailed to supportingstructure below, and said clamping strips being nailed into the grooves,with nails passing through said boards and into the supporting structurebelow so as to tie all three together, and said sheet metal stripscovering all nail heads.

14. In a sheet metal covered boarded roof, at

layer of boards covering the roof structure and presenting a flush outersurface, sheets of. metal covering said boards and provided with-foldedseams; joining adjacent sheets, and said folded seams positionedrespectively against the edges of the boards, and a clamping stripengaging said seam and forcing said seam tightly against the edge of oneof the roof boards, the clamping 15. In a sheet metal covered boardedroof as set out in claim 14, said clamping strips being 5 tapered incross section. v 1 1 ALOIS W. PATTIANL

